1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to electrical connectors and, more particularly, to a new and improved header connector and attachment thereof to a flexible printed circuit substrate.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In many printed circuit applications, a male-pin header connector provides a junction between a number of the circuit paths defined on the printed circuit substrate and a female-pin connector defining the termination of a number of remote conductors. When the printed circuit substrate is flexible, the problems of establishing electrical continuity between the male-pin terminals and the circuits on the substrate and protecting the connections against strain are especially difficult. With respect to electrical continuity, header connectors have been proposed wherein an edge of the flexible printed circuit substrate is inserted into the connector and contacts thereon are resiliently biased against exposed portions of the circuits. Another proposed header connector has a connector body fabricated in separate upper and lower halves. A portion of a flexible substrate containing a plurality of parallel conductors is stripped away to expose the conductors. To connect the conductors to a plurality of pin terminals on the lower connector half, the exposed conductors are aligned by guides on the lower connector half over open receiving passageways on the pin terminals. The upper connector half is then clamped over the lower connector half and forces the exposed conductors into the open receiving passageways of the pin terminals to establish continuity between the conductors and the pin terminals. With respect to strain relief, some header connector proposals of the edge insertion variety have included outrigger-like clamping bars which clamp around the flexible printed circuit substrate outboard of the connections to the pin terminals to isolate the connections from forces tending to pull the substrate out of the connector. In another proposal, a pair of projections attached to but offset from the connector engage apertures in the flexible printed circuit substrate to effect strain relief. A header connector and attachment according to this invention represents a novel alternative to these and other known header connector and attachment arrangements in that a strain relieved junction between circuits and pin terminals is achieved in a particularly simple and economical manner.